Pages

Monday, February 23, 2015

Now I've heard of spontaneous combustion, but if it happens more than once within a short period of time within a certain range? You know it's not a coincidence. It's not some isolated chemical reaction.

The midnight sun bakes Fairbanks, Alaska as residents gather
for the annual summer solstice baseball game. Amidst the revelry and raucous
shouts of “Play ball,” a spark alights and a jogger bursts into flames.
Detective Danny Fitzpatrick, still reeling from his near death at the hands of
vampire Aleksei Nechayev, watches in horror as the man burns alive.

Someone is burning Fairbanks and its residents and leaving
nothing but smoldering embers behind. As the city sweats under a
record-breaking heatwave and unexplained fires claim more victims, Danny and
his colleagues struggle to find an arsonist who can conjure fire out of thin
air.

To Danny’s horror, the only one who may be able to help him
stop the arsonist is his nemesis Nechayev. Will the vampire help in the hunt
for a witch?

Julie
Flanders is a librarian by day and a writer all the rest of the time. She is
also a television show addict with a particular fondness for Game of Thrones
and The Walking Dead and a slightly obsessive sports fan who cheers for the
Ohio State Buckeyes and the Cincinnati Reds. Julie is an animal lover and
animal rescue advocate who shares her home with her rescued dog and cat. She
has written about the joys of pets for outlets such as Cat Fancy, Thrive in
Life, and Best Friends Animal Society. Visit Julie at julieflanders.net.

Monday, February 16, 2015

If you've been a follower of mine for any length of time, you know I luurve the paranormal. Especially ghosties. They have a lifetime of stories and experience to share, and then in the afterlife, they learn a whole lot more about the world we really live in. Stranger than fiction stuff happens, like the scene below picked by Jamie Ayres, from her new book, 18 Thoughts, especially for my followers. You know Olga needs saving in that last line - but from what kind of otherworldly phenomena or thing?

﻿

===

Thanks so
much to the gracious Gwen Gardner for hosting me on my blog tour to celebrate
the final release in the My So-Called
Afterlife Trilogy, 18 THOUGHTS! Since Gwen’s blog focuses on the
paranormal, I’m sharing a paranormal scene from my latest YA release. Enjoy!

I tried getting to him, but the air shifted.
Suddenly, I felt like I was spinning on a merry-go-round. The ground vibrated,
and the hair on my arms and the back of my neck lifted, a heightening awareness
taking over. I let out a raspy breath as super dark clouds, almost pitch black
in color, raced across the overcast sky above me. Increased heat despite the
winter defrosted my numb fingers and toes. The change in air pressure made my
ears pop like I was on an airplane.

Debris scraped my skin, an unseen force stirring
up the dirt and making the woods quiver. Trees broke in half in the shrieking
wind, some ripped up by the roots, blocking my path to the protection of my
square. As my toboggan blew off, I wondered distantly if all of Grand Haven was
under attack or just us. All of hell seemed to be fighting, and the vortex felt
like it’d rip my hair right off my head, too, my long strands stinging my face.

I straightened to full height, and stared down
the storm and the demons causing it. Supernatural strength I couldn’t explain
helped me rush against the wind and jump over fallen trees. Olga stood just
outside the square, shivering in her puffy coat. She whipped her head toward
me, her eyes wide and pleading but still the color of utter darkness.

*Note: I had
to alter the scene a bit so I wouldn’t spoil anything. Was it Conner or Nate’s
perspective? And why does Olga need saving? You’ll just have to read to find
out!

Olga Gay Worontzoff left the Underworld anxious to return to
normal, but fate had other plans; now she’s caught in a world that’s a mix of
familiar and supernatural, torn between past and present.

Writers really put a lot of pressure on themselves. Not just the traditionally published, either. Every self-publisher I know is just as serious about their calling as any other writer. Our deadlines are self-imposed, but every bit as real. I usually set some hefty goals. In fact, I did set some hefty goals. But in learning about who my new characters are and discovering more about the world in which they live, I decided I need more time. The rush and pressure to publish isn't doing me any good. It's definitely not making my writing better. Instead of publishing a three-novella series, I might just publish one or two of the novellas. The important thing is that I'm enjoying the process without all the pressure.

Sound like a good plan?

HOW IS YOUR WRITING GOING?

(If you get a chance, check out my post at Untethered Realms. It's about how I discovered a solution to a writing problem. Not an insecurity, really, but about how I was able to begin moving forward again.)

Monday, February 2, 2015

A very happy Monday to you all!

I missed posting last week. You know, for a writer, sometimes I have very little to say. Lots of stuff swirls around in my brain, of course, but you can't really say some of that madness out loud, LOL. I guess I'm in a bit of a slump. Everything's been said before. I have nothing new to bring to the table.

Blah, blah, blah.

So how about a dose of cuteness instead?

Koko is a very good swimmer.

Or as my daughter says, "Fat Floats"

Tuffy prefers the snow.

They both enjoy squirrel watching.

And to show I'm not biased, there's always this...

...which we found on our property in 2011.

Koko and Tuffy found this precious little thing. Then they just sat down next to him, being good as gold. Didn't even think about trying to chase him. (Unlike the squirrels!)